TCN makes vow on persistent nationwide blackouts

The Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, Sule Abdulaziz has revealed plans to prevent future nationwide blackouts.

Nigerian experienced  National Grid collapse three times in the past week which led to an electric power outage across the country.

But the TCN boss who was speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, said the company was going to set up a back up system so a nationwide blackout could be avoided should the grid collapse.

He said: “Presently, we are doing the scatter system for the whole network and it is funded by the World Bank, and the project will take two years to be completed, and now, we have done 70% of the project.

“Almost a month ago, we were at Gwagwalada (in Abuja) with the World Bank where we celebrated the project. It is 70 percent completed. Once we have the scatter system, it will reduce the frequency of getting system disturbances.

“We are trying to upgrade all our transmission lines,” he said, adding that though the government might not have enough money for the project, the TCN has been working in partnership with private companies to mobilise funds.

“The honourable minister ( of power) is now working with the presidency to have that approval. This is what we call the super grid.

“By the time we have it, even if there is a fault in one transmission line, you can switch to the one so that we have an alternative but now, the type of grid we have, once we have a problem with the line, you have no other line to switch on to.”